Mt. Zion Baptist Church Pastor Marcus Allen thinks — with all the violence lately, including four shootings and three homicides in one week — the city needs a little prayer.

“Due to the increase in violence in our city I thought it was important that the church come outside its walls and provide some type of hope for the community,” Allen tells Madison365. “This is important because we believe prayer changes things and offers hope in helpless situations.”

Allen will lead a “prayer walk” to five locations on Madison’s south side, offering prayer at each one. The procession will begin at Penn Park at 6:30 pm, then proceed to the South Transfer Point, Goodman Library, and Taft Street Boys and Girls Club, and conclude at Mt. Zion Baptist Church.

“In the Bible there is a story of King Jehoshaphat who is threatened by three armies banding together to destroy him,” Allen says. “However, instead of him calling a meeting with his generals, he called the city together to pray and God helped them. I am confident that God will do the same for the city of Madison.”